RED Announces High-End Phone With Holographic Display

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The RED Digital Cinema Camera Company is responsible for manufacturing some of the most cutting-edge cameras on the market, but its recent phone announcement is going to raise eyebrows nonetheless. According to the company, its upcoming product — the RED Hydrogen One — represents the “world’s first holographic media machine in your pocket. No glasses needed. With one fell swoop… the future of personal communication , information gathering, holographic multiview, 2D, 3D, AR/VR/MR, and image capture just changed forever.”

The company continues, with PR speak so intense you can practically feel the phone lifting off, “This incredible, retina-riveting display features nanotechnology that seamlessly switches between traditional 2D content, holographic multiview content, 3D content, and interactive games…. both landscape and portrait modes supported.”

The Android-powered Hydrogen One will also (and from here on I’m going to paraphrase a bit) convert stereo sound into 5.1 audio through your crappy earbuds. It will incorporate a new, proprietary high-speed data bus that allows for future modular upgrades and serves as the foundation of a “multi dimensional media system.” And it can view all content normally, as well as display RED Hydrogen 4-View Content, stereo 3D, and of course the aforementioned AR, VR, and MR.

Moreover, the Hydrogen One will integrate with RED cameras, and work with the Scarlet, EPIC, and Weapon “as a user interface and monitor.” And of course there will be an online shop, where you can create your own holographic content, convert existing content into holograms, stream apps, and find new and exciting software designed to use all these amazing features. The price? Just $1,195 for the aluminum version, or $1,595 for titanium.

Why it’s not happening

I know, I know. Who am I, random Internet Journalist, to declare that RED — which has some real achievements to its name, and has done some impressive work with camera technology — can’t somehow magically create this device at just 2x to 3x the cost of your typical smartphone?

Simple. This isn’t just one technology, or even one group of technologies. RED is claiming it’s developed an entire product ecosystem with the ability to switch and optimize for multiple types of content viewing on the fly. Microsoft’s AR headset, HoloLens, is a $3,000 face computer that you strap on. VR backpacks and wireless systems are in early test phases. But nobody — nobody — is suggesting that we can combine VR, AR, and an entirely holographic display into a smartphone, as if that represents a minor step forward rather than a huge technological leap, and by Q1 2018 to boot.

Furthermore, despite the futuristic sound of the technology, using holography for displays is an area of active research. The existing methods of doing so just aren’t ready for integration into any kind of smartphone. The entire concept of a holographic display (does it come with a complimentary Tupac?) brings to mind the 3D craze of 2011, when 3D capabilities were going to be baked into every product. The great visual display revolution, meant to be ushered in by devices like the Nintendo 3DS and the HTC EVO 3D, never really happened — and 3D technology, whatever else one says about it, was a good deal more ready for mass market integration than any dubious claims about holographic technology.

Last week, the internet went a bit nuts over the fact that the iPhone had just turned 10 and Steve Jobs had memorably declared it “An iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator.” Such phrasing, of course, ignores the profound impact the iPhone actually had on our lives. In comparison, what RED just announced is roughly equivalent to a “space-based platform with instantaneous travel between Mars and Earth for $0.99 per passenger. The first 10,000 passengers get a free clone of Elon Musk.”

We may get to the point where the future RED lays out is possible one day. But it ain’t launching in 2018 — at least not with the feature set and capabilities the company’s marketing is promising. And I say that as a person with tremendous respect for RED, its camera technologies, and the way it’s moved that industry forward. It’s hard enough creating two-dimensional LCDs that can handle outdoor light. The idea that projected hologram displays are bright enough to handle this kind of basic task, or will be by 2018, seems unlikely.

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